Tunneling-machine.



S. NOAH.

WNNEHNG MACHINE Putened Nov.

IN VEN TOR.

Q2. m A TTORNE Y 1,162,607. f. Application :nea January 20, 1915.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

SAMUEL HGR, OF VIRGINIA, MINNESOTA.

TUNNELING-MACHINE.

ficationg' reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to improvements in tunneling machines.

The object of my inve" ion is to provide a tunneling machine adapted to travel on tracks and operated. within tunnel and having a wide range of adjustment, where by the tunnel is excavated and the material thus excavated carried back and deposited in rear of tlle machine into ears thus avoid ing the eXtra handling of the excavated material.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tunneling machine of the scoop form which can be readily dumped and conveyed back to cars on the same track as that sup-a por-ts the tunneling machine.

Another object of my invention is to pro Vide a more effective tunneling machine. olf this character having certain details of construction and combination of parte lierein-- after more fully Set forth.

In the. accompanying drasvii'igfsf Figure 1 is a side elevation of my im proved tunneling machine operating Within. a tunnel. Fig. il is a top plan `View of lfigg. l. Fig. 3 is an end view showingl the shovel and its operating mechanism and the mov-t able supg irting frame. Fig. l is a side view of the shovel showing the bottom releasing mechanism.

l represents the railroad trait: within the tunnel 2. as is ordinarily used :n anni; work, and is intended to be oit tlm nauw iff that used in the transportingl ci" rial in the tunnel by train ears. proved tunneling machine portable upon such track and, when at Work at the tace of the tunnel, is designed to rest upon the ter minus of the track and may be fulvaneed or withdrawn upon same as necessity requires.

3 represents the chassis of the device mounted upon suitable wheels 4 and which pivotally carries at 5 the main frame of the machine. This frame may be constructed ot Wood o1" metal, as desired, and may either be a skeleton frame or completely housed in,

'as necessity requires. I have illustrated it as Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

Serial No. 3,285.

an open construction, comprising a bottom 6 and sides '7n-7, properly braced and united in any desired manner suitable for the purpose.

The forward end of the frame is supported upon a plurality of suitable Wheels or rollers 8, which rest upon a track on the platform 9 of the chassis 3 and which will permit of the forward end of the frame being moved from side to side of the tunnel to facilitate the working ot the shovel. This lateral moveu'xent may be accomplished by power being applied to une or more of thc rollers 8, as indicated al the centermost one ol such rollers in dottori line, Fig. if, and. which may be controlled operated in uur desired manner.

The upper edges of the sides 7W? t the frame incline downwardly toward the front and 'arry intermediate their uppermost side walls the lungitudinall)v reciprocal platform l0 which is supported upon suitable axles ll. preferably one adjacent. each end thereof, and said axles are mounted upon wheels or rollers lil, one upon each end of each axle, which rest upon the side walls 7 within elou`A gated cut-aw=rv apertures 13 formed for the purpose within the side walls, as clearly seen in 1 and 3 of the drawings, thus the 'platform l0 is capable of reciprocating lon gitudinally. In order to provide for such reciprocating movement; of the platform 10, l have shown mounted npen the sume at each side thereof rack which is engaged by a suitable pinion lo mounted upon the transverse shaft lll. said shaft being journaled within suitaldc bean 17H37 mounted upon the uppermost 5 of the side wallsl 'Zw-7 of the frame deriving its power in any suitable maua sprocket ril-"iu and wheels, as indicated. "ruin the power unit i8, located within tile body of the frame. 4

lt is not considered necessary to compli cate this application by illustrating a precise mechanism for alternately operating the shaft 1G at will, as such devices are well known and accomplished in numerous ways, and it sullices to say that reciprocal control fit' the platform 10 is brought, in any convenient manner, within ready reach of the operator, and, while I have illustrated the rack and gear attachment for this purpoae'it is readily understood that a system lli) purpose, with possibly equal results.

l'pon thv forward vnd of tht` platform l() is svvurvlv tixvd a trong' pivotal hi, ya i" thv t'rcc vnd of which carries an adjnatalnc strap 2t) which vnvirvlvh4 thv l hovvl c vlindvr 2l. 'l`hv strap 2U is madiadiustahlv in that it is fornad otl two parta. thv 'l'rvc cada ol' which are hvld together hv invans of an ad justablv holt and nut 2li. as rlvarllv sei-n in Fig. l of thv drawings. llv thi mvans thv cylinder may hc adjuated \vrtivall v and lixvd to suit the work in hand. \\'ithin the cylinder 2l is thv rvviproval pintan il, thv piston rod 25 ot which protrudva through thv lowvr vnd ot' thv cylinder and forms` thc operatingr arni propel' oi' the shovel .341 :a il hv which the latter is controlled verticallv.

rl he operation of the piston within the cylinder is performed'biy thv application of air which may hv lvd to thv c vlindvr hy mean of a suitahlv arrangement of a flexible hose. as indicated at' 27, or any other preferred arrangement known to the art, whcrihy the operator has full control of the vertical movement of the shovel.

Aimiliariv` guiding rods 28u28 are attached to the rear wall of thv shovel 2. one upon either sidv of the piston rod 25 and which trend parallel therewith and pass through guidingl eyes 25h29 formed integral with thv head 30 ot' the cylinder Q1. Guiding v vvs fil-31 arc formed integral with the annular Banged ring 32 which is lixed to the cylinder 21 practicalliv intvrinediate its ends and ahovv thv holdingr Strap or hand Q0. which further guide the rods :Q8-#28 as they are moved thvrvinf Lines 33 33 alc attached to thv extreme upper ends ot thv rods QH--LS hv means` of eyes and vxtvnd longitudinallvy thv cylinder to thv. uppvr vnd thvrvof where they pass through thv pullv'w` 2H All. suspended from thv uppvr vnd of thv vylindvr head. and from thcnvv down ovvr the pulleys fli--35 attat'rhvd to thv upper surface of the movingr platform 10, thvnvv to thv douhlv windin .r r drum 36. mounted upon thv shaft 3T whichl is journalvd within suitahlv hoxvs 35i-38 fixed to thv upper edgv of thv lsfidv walls- 7-7 of the stationair)Y trame varrivd by platforni 9.

The shaft 37 is designed to run continuously and derives its powvr troni thv unit 1S in any deairvd maunvr` 7nach aa: h v means of wheels and sprocket vliaits` as illustrated. Means for intvrniittvntlv controllingr the revolution of the drum 2G ia providvd for hy means of the clutch 39. which slidahlf; vngages the toothcd vnd of thv drunL as clearlyv illustratvd in Fig. 52 of thv drawings. the clutch being controlled by a .system of lvvers, 40. 4l and 49a and the shaft. t3. which latter leads to a readilyv accessible point for the operator of thvY devivvl which, for convenicnce is determined to ho the left-hand corner of the frame of the machine, approximately at. Fig. 2. this arrangement thv vvlindvr 2l majY hc operated at will and it is rvaditv aven that no power .is necessary to vauav it and thv .shovel to :nieuwe the p0- sition shown in Fig. l ot thv drawing, its own wvight lacing; Huapi-ridad as it is, will liriirtr ahont di#y rvault automatically and power is -nlv required to tiring the shovel into working: action except that the rack and pinion mechanism 14 and 15, may A.be used to properly position the platform ltito vausv thv shovel to engage the ond of the' does occur and the cylinder 21 thereby stopped. a. continued stress upon the lines 33H33 will cause the shovel to he raised in its relation to the cylinder and thas force the piston 2l upward into the cylinder and thus reduce the hito of the Shovel until it; becomes Sutlicicntly free to allow the Cylinder to resumo its oscillation.

lf air under pressure is admitted into the cilinder above the piston this relief action nia)v he retarded or prevented entirely if desired to force the Shovel to its Work or, on the other handn if additional relief to the shovel is desired. air may be admitted into the cylinder below the piston and Such readily afforded. or the platform It? 'ne adrancvfl or withdrawn hv rnva'is ot" the racks and pinion@- hvt'ore :lcsvriliijd or allowed tree action as the work demands. thus it is seen that perfect adjustment and control of the shovel are instantly available, while under normal circumstances it; automatically adjunta itself to thc work.

ssiirning the Shovel to have filled With material and drat't upon the lines 33-33 sutlicient to bring the cylinder .21 down parallvl with thv platform l0, and such draft, be continued, the platform, cylinder. shovel and load will he drawn toward the drum 36 hy the action ot the lines winding thereupon and which may he assisted through the medium of the rack and pinion, if desired. In operation this dra ft continued until the shovel comes dircctl)v over the apron 45 of thv receiving pocket. when, the fixed stops UVW will engage thv pins 47-47 on the door dogs 4&48 and force the dogs to disvngage the latch pins ttl-49 of the shovel door 50 and allow it to drop h v gravity. which it will quickly do, and result in the mme aisefiiarge ofthe @tiene of 'the shovel into the" pocket andi onto' thel conveyer belt 51 by which it'fis'carriedl longivtudinally the machine and discharged at the v18, which may be by means of sprocket chains 51 and wheels as illustrated, or any other suitable Vform of transmission.

The dogs'48 are' pivotally mounted upon .the sides of the shovel, as at 52 andare formed with counterbalancing ends 53,'

which, when the shovel is lowered into action, will drop down and engage pins 54 for sustaining them while they hold the door closed, by the 'latch pins 49 being-engaged in the mouth 55 of the dogs.

The power unit 18, illustrated in' the drawing, is electric, and, as readily understood, maybe controlled from any predetermined position on the machine and I have illustrated a controlling lever 57 asl leading to the desired point of control.

A compressed air power unit-may be employed instead of electricity' Without departino` from the invention. Y

aving thus fully described my invention what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A tunneling machine comprising a frame, an endless conveyer carried by 'the' frame and extending beyond the rear end of the. support, a longitudinally movable `member carried by. the frame, means-for moving said member, a cylinder intermediately pivoted to the outer end of the longitudinally movable member, a piston rod carried by the cylinder, a shovel carried by the lower end of the piston rod, guide rods connected to the shovel and extending along the side of the cylinder, cables connected to the said guide rods and extending over pulleys carried by the `ipper end of the cylinder, means-carried bygthe frame" for operating said cable, and means for automatically dumping the sh'ovel when the longitudinally movable' frame is moved rearwardly.

Q. tunneling machine of the character flerri-ibetl` omprisingr a frame. an endless conveyer'ejrried by the frame and extending` beyond the rear end of the frame. alongitudinallv movable member carried by the upper end Vot the frame, means for moving said member on the frame, a cylinder intermediate-,ly pivoted to the outer end of thc longitudinally movable member, a piston ,within the cylinder` a piston rod carried by "the piston. a shi-rel carried b v the lower end of the piston rod, rods connected to the nzhyrel and extending through guides carried `-ihefsides of the cylinder, cables connec'f-l tojhe upper ends of the guide rods,

'pulleys carried by the upper end df the cylinder and over which-the said cables pass, and means carried by the frame for operatmg' said cables, whereby the cylinder is caused to rock upon the longitudinallymovable member, and means for automatically dumping the shovel by the rearward movementof the longitudinally movable member.

3, A tunneling machine comprisingr av frame, an endless conveyer carried by the frame and extending beyond the rear end thereof, a longitudinally movable member carried by the upperfend ofthe frame, i

means for moving said member longitudi-4 nally, a cylinder intermediately pivoted to the outer endof the longitudinally movable member, a' piston within the cylinder, a pis- Y ton lrod carried by the piston, a shovel carriedby-the outer end 'of :the piston rod, a pivoted bottom carried by the shovel, a latch for locking the bottom closed, guide rods carriedby the shovel and passing through eyes carried by the cylinder, cables connected to the upper end of the guide rods and passing over pulleys carried bythe upper ends oi the cylinder, means carried by the frame for operating said cables, and means carried by the frame for engaging the latch for 'releasing the bottom of the shovel' when the longitudinally movable member is moved inwardly, whereby `the contents' of the Shovel are discharged upon theendless cbnveyer.

4, A- tunneling machine .comprising a frame, an endless conveyor carried by the frame andv extending beyond the rear end thereof, a longitudinally movable member carried by the upper end of the frame, a cylinder pivoted to the Aouter end of said longitudinally movable member, a piston within the cylinder, a piston rod carried by the piston, a shovel carried by t-hdl lower end of the pistou rod and having a pivoted bottom, a latch for holding the bottom closed, guide rods carried by the shovel and'extending through eyes on the side ofthe cylinder, cables connected to the upper ends of the guide rods and passing over pulleys carried by the upper ends of the cylinder, and means carried by the frame for operating said cables where-by the cylinder` is rocked upon the longitudinally movable member and the bottom automatically released by the engagement of lugs carried by the frame when the longitudinally'movable member is moved inwardly, whereby the contents of the shovel ari discharged upon thc` endless conveyor.

5. tunneling machine lcomprising a frame. an endless conreyer carried by the frame and extending beyond the rear end ot the frame, a longitudinally movablemem bei' carried by the trame. a cylinder pivoted .to the outer end oi said member, a piston aoV loo

llO

and having a pivoted bottom, a. latch for holding'the bottom closed, rods carried by the shovel and extending up parallel to the sides ofv the cylinder and passing through guides, cables secured to the upper ends of the rods and passing over pulleys carried by the upper end of the cylinder and extending to a drum on the frame, and a motor carried by the. fruine for operating the rollers, the

endless conveyer and the drum, substan- 10 tally as shown and described.

1n testimony whereof I hereuntoaix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL HOAR.

Witnesses:

E.`J. BLANCHARD, A. C. DUNN. 

